Unions also proposing more frequent reviews of vehicle allowance rate
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has filed an application with the Fair Work Commission seeking to hike vehicle allowances to keep up with fuel price shocks that are impacting employees.
Vehicle allowances refer to the separate amount paid by employers in addition to salary and wages that are meant to cover certain conditions of employment.
In Australia, the current average vehicle allowance is set at 99 cents per kilometre, with about 40% of that designated to cover fuel costs.
ACTU, in its proposal, wants the rate to be increased by at least an extra 10 cents to keep up with the higher fuel prices resulting from the Middle East conflict.
"It is a basic principle that workers should not be out of pocket when they are required to use their own vehicle at work, they must be fully compensated," said Sally McManus, ACTU secretary, in a statement.
"The current allowance is not delivering fair compensation to cover cost and so it must be adjusted."
More frequent allowance review
The union is also asking the government to bring forward the annual adjustment of the vehicle allowance from the current July schedule.
It also wants the allowance to be reviewed monthly and updated in line with CPI private vehicle costs for at least the next 12 months, while fuel prices remain volatile.
ACTU's proposal is expected to benefit employees in nursing, aged care and disability support, fast-food delivery, and others who need to travel between clients and worksites in suburban and regional areas.
It is also expected to support workers on enterprise agreements that have vehicle allowance rates linked to awards.
"It's unacceptable for fast food delivery drivers, aged care workers and disability support workers to effectively subsidise their employers out of their own pay every time they fill up their vehicles," McManus said.
The proposal comes amid surging fuel prices in the country as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. ACTU said the average unleaded fuel prices have gone up by more than 35% on pre-war averages.
"Petrol prices have surged, but workers' vehicle allowances have not even remotely kept up," McManus said.
"Australians are paying out of their own pockets just to do their job, and that is not sustainable amid all the other cost-of-living pressures working people are enduring."
